Flying Man: A Sad Story
by BigWryEarthBound45
Summary: This story tells of my experience of Flying Men. R&R No flames.
1. Chapter 1

The other day I was doing another run of EarthBound, and had reached Magicant. Since I knew what was coming, Ness had a Sea Pendant on him, as well as the Franklin Badge, 2 Cups of Lifenoodles and 2 Brain Food Lunches. So, naturally, I was set. But, just for novelty, I decided to bring a Flying Man along with me. I was always fond of them, though they were rather worthless in a battle sense.

"I am your courage. I follow you here in Magicant. … My name? Let's say Flying Man."

So, I took my first Flying Man with me into the Sea of Eden. A stray Super Bomb killed him quickly, and since I was so close to the Flying Man home, I decided to grab another. But before that, I decided to check his tombstone out of respect.

Ness's courage is resting here. He fought well and died.

A fitting tombstone. After this, I talked to the second Flying Man.

"I'll be your courage. I'll remain unless you lose your courage. Call me Flying Man 2."

Once again, my Flying Man died. I had gotten farther this time, enough to talk to my doppleganger in the Sea of Eden, so I decided to check the 2nd Tombstone and receive the third Flying Man. I had never done this before in a run, usually the first Flying Man lasted until at least halway through the Sea, until it wasn't feasible to backtrack. I suppose I was just unlucky.

Another one of Ness's courage is resting here. He damaged evil terribly, and finally died.

"I'm Flying Man 3. Your courage hasn't died yet. Let's go!"

These Flying Men seemed to me as a very good idea on Itoi's part. It could be unsettling to be alone after having SOMEBODY with you at all times since Happy Happy Village. Having a companion is comforting. However, once again, this Flying Man died, and, out of curiosity, I returned to the house to see the third tombstone and receive the fourth Flying Man.

Here he rests… I didn't have time to have his name chiseled into the tombstone.

"I'm also your courage. Call me Return of the Flying Man! …How's that? However… don't treat us like trash."

The tombstone struck me as strange, but the 4th Man's quote seemed off… Did they resent Ness for dragging them into the Sea of Eden, for endangering them? Is Ness' mind chastising him for delving into danger, in both Magicant, and in the real world, where he seeks Giygas out?

The 4th Flying Man died, and so I returned to their home.

Someone's tombstone.

"Of course, we're your courage. But we warned you not to treat us like trash! Didn't you get it?! This isn't courage, it's desperation. If you don't understand "courage," look it up in the dictionary. Okay? My name's The Final Flying Man."

This one hit me. It made something click that I had never realized. The Final Flying Man is completely right… They don't represent Ness' courage, they represent his desperation. A player on his first play-through might be very unsettled about Magicant. Had they not brought the Sea Pendant or the Franklin Badge, or didn't have a lot of supplies, they would be very concerned. But then they find an ally in the Flying Men. They find a good stock of companions who will fight alongside them. The Flying Men gives the player Courage. They make the player feel (s)he can get through the Sea of Eden. Many players would likely run back to the house when a Flying Man died, afraid of facing the Sea of Eden alone.

When the last Flying Man dies, they are forced to traverse the Sea of Eden alone. However… the Sea of Eden is not difficult. Even without the Franklin Badge, the only real threat is allowing the Dice enemies to summon a large number of Bomb enemies. Healing Beta can heal poison. Thunder is inaccurate. The enemies in general are weak, with low HP. By the time the player faces three Kraken with a solo Ness, they realize that they're, in fact, very strong. They realize they were fine alone, they never needed the Flying Men.

That is the metaphor. The player believes they need the Flying Men, they draw the courage to face the Sea of Eden by recruiting them. It is only after the Final Flying Man is gone that they realize that they only took the Flying Men along because they were desperate. They never needed the Flying Men, they only thought they did.

This really hit me when I discovered it. It casts the concept of the Flying Men in a completely different light, at least for me. It gives the Sea of Eden a new importance, in my eyes. Not only are you overcoming your fears and nightmares, but also your own self-doubt.

(As a side note… Buzz Buzz has a tombstone beside the Flying Men's house. If the Flying Men help make Ness cast aside his desperation, is Buzz Buzz the one who instilled it in him? I'm sure Ness (as well as the player) was very confident about their success when Buzz Buzz joined the party, and took out the Starman Jr. with such ease. Alone, Ness would be in serious trouble, but Buzz Buzz makes short work of it. But… then Buzz Buzz dies, leaving Ness with nothing but questions and a cryptic mission, without any guidance. This event could have planted the seeds of doubt in his mind, the seeds that would eventually fester into the Flying Men… the thought that Ness is afraid he can't do it alone.)

So, tl;dr, the Flying Men represent Ness' self-doubt and desperation. They help him realize that he is a powerful force in his own right, which in turn allows him to face the evil in his mind without fear.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey everyone, EBF here, to explain. I picked up a copy of EarthBound a while back, and I started playing again a few days ago. I reached Magicant today, and came up with this story/documentary. Hope everybodeh out there enjoyed this. Fuzzy Pickles!**_


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